


sometimes

by sond_sie



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Anxiety, Exhaustion, F/M, I know right, Interview, M/M, Platonic Relationships, Touring, and so is tyler, i just love their friendship, josh is the best best friend ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 06:15:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11753751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sond_sie/pseuds/sond_sie
Summary: josh thinks interviews are alright.but sometimes, tyler fucks it up.





	sometimes

**Author's Note:**

> hi yes it has been a h o t minute since i uploaded anything bc school is kicking my ass. here's a lil something i wrote while trying to get back into the groove

josh thinks interviews are alright.

he’s learned a lot over the past few years, about how to deal with obnoxious radio presenters and people who know nothing about them. seriously, it’s a two man band, how do some people not know their names?

he’s become pretty comfortable with the weight of a microphone in his hand. he feeds off the encouragement he sees online, instead of fearing their judgment like he used to. he attempts to answer every question thrown his way, or add to whatever tyler says.

of course, having his best friend by his side helps out a lot. since the beginning they’ve worked well with each other, always understanding if one of them needs a laugh or a break. their connection is definitely something that helped them get this far, he thinks.

but sometimes tyler fucks it up.

they’re having a rough day, one of the ones near the end of the tour when their exhaustion is almost painful. there are interviews lined up all morning, but josh isn’t sure if he’ll even make it through the first one.

tyler’s got that far-away look on his face, the one that usually means he’s about to totally disengage from what’s happening around him. josh has dealt with this several times, and knows how to direct all the attention to himself without making tyler look bad. today, however, he _really_  doesn’t feel like it. a quick glance at tyler as the first interviewer sits down across from them tells josh he won’t have a choice. he swallows nervously, an uneasy feeling settling in his stomach. the girl introduces them, then asks, “how are you today?”

“we’re good,” josh replies. tyler fiddles with his wedding band, blank gaze directed at the floor. she asks them some standard questions, ones about the fans outside and playing a bigger venue. josh answers them easily.

“so how did you two meet?”

oh crap. josh looks to tyler for a split second. maybe he should come up with something that’ll hopefully make his friend laugh.

“uh, i was working on a farm,” josh starts. the interviewer gives him an odd look. “tyler’s car broke down one day while i was working…” he trails off, looking desperately to tyler for ideas. the singer lifts his head and mirrors the face of the stranger in front of them.

“dude, what?” tyler asks flatly. josh swallows again, tapping his fingers on his thigh and focusing back on the interviewer.

“um, i was — i was just joking. we just met through mutual friends,” he says, cheeks rosy in embarrassment. the girl seems more satisfied with this answer. the questions keep coming, and josh tries his best to answer while avoiding the memory of tyler’s judgemental tone.

“so, my last question,” she says, and josh tries not to sigh in relief.

“when it comes to the writing process, how long does it take to finish a whole song?”

after a beat of silence josh stammers, “i, uh—“ before shutting his mouth. he can’t answer these types of questions, tyler knows that. but for the first time in this situation— tyler completely ignores him. the interviewer looks between them impatiently, seemingly not noticing as the drummer’s fingers tremble and his breaths quicken.

“…no answer for that one?” she asks slowly, and josh simply shakes his head, looking anywhere but at her and the other people in the room. he’s _so_  embarrassed, he just wants to run and hide from them all.

“alright, thank you for joining me twenty one pilots,” she says, failing to hide condescending undertones beneath false gratitude. josh nods, bolting out of his seat and from the room as fast as he can, not even waiting for the cameras to stop rolling.

finally, tyler moves in his chair to stand up. he goes to follow josh straight out the door, but a hand catches his bicep. when he follows the arm up he’s met with the half-concerned, half-pissed eyes of his wife. the concerned half wins out first.

“are you okay, ty?” she asks softly. he thinks about it for a second.

“yeah, i’m just tired.” he tries to smile. jenna’s eyes harden in an instant, and tyler stiffens.

“then what was that?” she asks him sharply, nails tightening in the fabric of his hoodie. tyler’s confused— he’s explained to her many times that sometimes he can’t get out of his own head, particularly when faced with the same monotonous questions over and over again. why is she so angry at him?

“josh just saved both of your asses,” jenna says, eyes narrowed. she drops his arm. “you better go make it up to him.”

tyler gulps, and nods before shuffling out of the room. he’s not exactly sure where his best friend went but it doesn’t take long to figure it out. he walks into the bathroom, and finds it empty except for one locked stall.

“josh?”

silence. and then, the soft click of the lock. tyler stares as his bandmate emerges from the stall and makes his way over to the sink, not glancing over at him once.

his hands are shaking, and tyler can see the redness around his eyes that he’s too familiar with by now; the first sign that josh has been crying.

“are you okay, bro?” tyler asks gently. josh stares at his reflection, feeling like an idiot for being upset over something so stupid. still, he can’t really find the words to reply.

“sorry for just now,” he continues sheepishly, “i was completely gone. to be honest, i can’t remember anything she said.” josh sighs. he knows he can’t be mad at his friend.

“i don’t mind if you ignore them, but not _me,_ “ he chokes, feeling childish. his throat burns with the threat of more tears. tyler’s eyes widen and he steps closer.

“josh—“ he grabs the other boy’s hand. he feels like the worst friend in the world. josh squeezes back tightly. they don’t need the bathroom mirrors to view their reflections. just looking at each other lets them see how exhausted they’ve become.

“i’m sorry,” tyler repeats, pulling josh in and wrapping his arms around him tightly. he never wants to be close to people when he feels like this, but he knows it’s what his best friend needs. josh wraps his strong arms around tyler’s waist and buries his head in his shoulder, sniffing.

they cancel the rest of the interviews that day, and if jenna finds them napping together on the couch before the show, she doesn’t tell anyone. well, not until she uploads the photo to instagram anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> this is 100% based on that faceculture interview. u know the one.


End file.
